wish fulfillment

noun

1. gratification of desires.

2. Psychoanalysis.,  the drive to free oneself from tension caused by instinctual needs, as sex.

Word History and Origins

Origin of wish fulfillment¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

In a world where the powerful increasingly act with impunity, taking fictional villains to task makes sense, a form of Hollywood wish fulfillment for those who feel stuck or hopeless.

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“As much as this isn’t wish fulfillment in the classic sense of a glamorous Manhattan apartment, cosmopolitans every night — it’s wish fulfillment because they’re really happy there,” Shaw said of the characters.

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“Stringed Instruments” was a work that left the audience without a closing moment of wish fulfillment.

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Phillips: I think it was just like a wish fulfillment of an 8-year-old.

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Seeing an evil man get what he deserves may provide fleeting wish fulfillment, but that doesn't make “Companion” an inherently feminist text.

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